Zero Punctuation: Braid

[codman24]

Good review

 

[ihitterdal]

I agree with the start: I hate those people, too. They're all over the place and don't have any idea of why the first games were good: they were FUN. They weren't made as graphic behemoths, but something fun where you filled in the blanks with your imagination. That wasn't that bad, but now that graphics are improved, they like a polished turd more than a gemstone still trapped in rock. Okay, bad metaphor, but still...

 

[PureZephyr]

Yahtzee i award you major epic points due to this video
first reason u referenced Hiro Nakamora (and properly) +25 Epic pts
second reason i just realized ur first name is Ben +10 Epic pts

so yea ummm good job
Sidenote- I love ur videos esp. the Psychonauts review (loved that fucking game)

Signed
Games-Ar-Art Hippie #74

 

[KatsuExe]

That was funny as usual and seeing as my name is adrian and your intention was to mess with my head, congratulations because you have seeing as i wear glasses just like those >___< but of all the names i wonder why choose adrian?

 

[WiwuX]

As a game designer-in-training the video and several comments made me die a little inside. Why would graphics affect gameplay? Graphics are done parallel to the rest of the development, so the worst case scenario is that the graphics get finished first or vice versa. Of course, I'm guessing from limited experience.

 

[wartman]

yo love the review but next time dont pick my name it was 8 30 in the morning and i almost had a heart attack lol

 

[LennyPennyLP]

i am not near an expert on games (or spelling), and their crtisizum but i enjoy playing them, and that is why i feel i have the right post this comment !!
i really dont mind games that have bad graphics, in fact it they dont it leaves more to the imagination, thats a load of ballocks; good graphics are nice, but they should NEVER get in the way of gameplay, or storyline !!
i do like games that have good story, and even if the gameplay is flawed i well plow through in order to see what happens next, and this maybe why gaming is becoming more like th film industry, but i dont mind, if there are some games out there that have good gameplay, then i will play them, so it doesnt matter if there are some more focussed on the story (although i agree puzzle games dont really need a storyline at all)
sorry for the essay, and i feel i left this open ended, but a know it is already too long so i will stop anyway !!

 

[SunoffaBeach]

soulja boy still try to open that door with key -> epic fail

 

[MonsieurOwnage]

not really a review but it was really funny. I wanted to see what you thought of the ending, maybe post it on your website or mention it while complaining about fans again.

 

[Phantom Sheep]

Finally reached the end of this game, so I rewatched this. I agree with everything, but I don't think Yahtzee gives them a hard enough time for the absurd divorce between gameplay and the story. The separation is really bad.

Also, cleverly hidden spoiler...

 

[MrPop]

Brilliant video for a brilliant game ^_^

 

[Molten Water]

Dunno if you people have actually played the game or not but it is BRILLIANT!!! the ENDING...is fuking BRILLIANT!!!and that problem yahtzee talks about is actually a very important plot line...if a mistake cant be corrected,u gotta start all over...and the epilogue tells you that the princess is actually an atomic bomb...and tim is on a quest to find her...

 

[scatmanfan]

Enjoyable, like all the others.

 

[Tyrannowalefish_Rex]

I think it is kind of pathetic for someone who is seemingly good with words, is always looking for ?substance? and calls himself a writer, has problems with interpreting Braid. To put it in a nutshell it's about philosophical or psychological consequences of a mistake and the question ?what if you could turn back the time?. This all in the context of a marriage and presented as some abstract platformer.

In any case, it's rather narrowminded to automatically fetch the sign ?pretentious? when something is supposed to be intellectual.
Or maybe I'm just overestimating the nitpicking, and he was just trying to make a point that the story presentation is too disconnected from most of the gameplay.

 

[TheRealCJ]

So what type of tax do we pay at fucking UK? Too much rain? Uglier women? Oh fuck, we are just being robbed then!

You're still paying off the bill that you racked up when you owned a good chunk of the free world.

That and you're being both fined for, and PRE-EMPTIVELY fined for: Margaret Thatcher, and Gordon Brown.

 

[cipheria]

I like the criticism of the story, but personally I disagree. I think it blends with the gameplay well, despite being separated. This was the first game I've played in years where I found myself wanting to read on and figure out more pieces of the puzzle (that being the plot, not the more literal puzzles)
Videogames have an inherent flaw in story telling in that they're supposed to be interactive, and have to take breaks from their purpose (fun game playing) to tell you of their "purpose" (the reason why the game environment/characters/powers/etc exist)

I think braid works well with this flaw in that it doesnt attempt a rigid story to explain anything, but instead uses the story to create a relationship with your character tim, and develop more of a feeling than anything. Which works well with the interaction of playing a game.
Also, I think you might be too rooted in the physical looking at your princess metaphors, it has a much more spiritual/universal sense to me personally, I feel like she's more of a symbol of thought, or creativity, or god, or inspiration, or nature. Basically, that thing that drives tim, and tim is us. the whole conveying the human condition through metaphor thing

still, I understand the criticism of its implementation and lack of finite explanations of itself. I just disagree with your view of jon's intentions (ie the analogy of a bad joke and noone laughing)

 

[Phsx2]

I like the criticism of the story, but personally I disagree. I think it blends with the gameplay well, despite being separated. This was the first game I've played in years where I found myself wanting to read on and figure out more pieces of the puzzle (that being the plot, not the more literal puzzles)
Videogames have an inherent flaw in story telling in that they're supposed to be interactive, and have to take breaks from their purpose (fun game playing) to tell you of their "purpose" (the reason why the game environment/characters/powers/etc exist)

I think braid works well with this flaw in that it doesnt attempt a rigid story to explain anything, but instead uses the story to create a relationship with your character tim, and develop more of a feeling than anything. Which works well with the interaction of playing a game.
Also, I think you might be too rooted in the physical looking at your princess metaphors, it has a much more spiritual/universal sense to me personally, I feel like she's more of a symbol of thought, or creativity, or god, or inspiration, or nature. Basically, that thing that drives tim, and tim is us. the whole conveying the human condition through metaphor thing

still, I understand the criticism of its implementation and lack of finite explanations of itself. I just disagree with your view of jon's intentions (ie the analogy of a bad joke and noone laughing)

tbh i'd say that Jon's reviews are more for entertainment value than anything else.

 

[beema]

forgot about this one. I finally got the Braid demo on my macbook. It's a really beautiful game, but it boils down to a platformer, and I hate platformers. I found the copy&paste level designs a bit of a cop out too. Once the more complex time mechanics were brought in, it also got frustrating beyond the point of fun. Kinda tossed it out after that.

 

[Polian Pox]

I am an evil, human hating misanthrope. :~)

Hi, nice to meet you!

 

[crampy]

Hang on, my name's Adam not Adrian.Just because you're on the same continent as me doesn't mean you can fuck up my name.